List of author's articles
Book Review: Dispatches from the Republic of Otherness, Laura Kelly
THE QUOTES chosen to adorn the back cover of Dispatches from the Republic of Otherness, Laura Kelly’s collection of vignettes chronicling her experiences teaching journalism in post-communist countries, are immediately off-putting. “Excuse me please, but you are adventure,” says Tirana resident Bashkim Gjergji. “The generous and the bold have the best lives,” proclaims a Norwegian proverb. Travel writing always risks slipping into self-indulgence, and the prospect of following this “part-time bon vivant” from Miami on her self-congratulatory adventures isn’t too enticing. Fortunately, it quickly becomes clear that the trumpet-blows of the blurb are misrepresentative.
Birdwatching Slovak style
BEARS, wolves, lynx, and boar: wildlife in Slovakia is usually associated with sharp-toothed quadrupeds such as these, the kind that populate fairy tales and folklore as well as the country’s eastern forests. But Slovakia’s terrain also hosts a fascinating variety of birdlife in a diverse range of habitats, and there is a growing interest in birdwatching as an alternative form of engagement with the country’s natural world. In Bratislava, two young ornithologists recently established the first travel agency in Slovakia to focus on birdwatching.
Slovak experience guides Bosnians
EVERY November Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates the anniversary of the Dayton Accords, the peace agreement which brought to an end the devastating war that from 1992 to 1995 claimed 100,000 lives and dispersed a million people. However, the two primary political objectives agreed upon by the country’s government following the establishment of peace remain distant, made inaccessible by a number of entrenched obstacles. Over the past year, a Slovak NGO has been working with Bosnian officials to help the country to finally overcome these difficulties.
Creating jobs while cutting carbon emissions
IN THE floodplain forests of the Danube River, a short distance from the Slovak-Hungarian border town of Komárno, a small NGO is attempting to harness traditional methods of working with nature to stabilise a disrupted ecosystem and combat climate change. BROZ, the Bratislava-based NGO behind the project, aims to restore animal grazing to the area and regenerate its indigenous population of willow trees. The NGO also hopes to bring employment, skills, and education to people in this deprived region, where unemployment reaches 16 percent.
- Bratislava’s Nová Tržnica reinvents itself with Yellow Thursdays Photo
- News digest: Hungary hijacks Slovakia’s foreign policy – for several awkward hours
- Slovak cities launch nationwide network to support refugees and migrants
- Slovakia’s place in Europe’s economy is shifting
- Caught by the gravitational pull of Europe, this American is rediscovering his Slovak roots
- Foreign workers fill record number of jobs, but fewer are highly skilled
- From Seattle to Bratislava: an American’s reverse migration story
- Slovakia’s “Mont Ventoux” opens to cyclists
- Bratislava’s Nová Tržnica reinvents itself with Yellow Thursdays Photo
- One American's dream of bringing a gym with Venice Beach vibes to Slovakia
- Rare brain-eating amoeba kills child in Slovakia
- From Seattle to Bratislava: an American’s reverse migration story
- Europe rearms - but can Slovakia be trusted?
- Slovakia has given up on attracting quality people. It is disgusting, says expert
- News digest: Slovak leaders voice concern over rising global tensions
- Two Slovaks deported from US and Vietnam in separate incidents
- From Seattle to Bratislava: an American’s reverse migration story
- From not knowing an English word to being a noted radio announcer in the US Video
- Bratislava’s Nová Tržnica reinvents itself with Yellow Thursdays Photo
- Last Week: Revenge-hungry Smer voters feast on donated ammunition case
- A year later, Bratislava’s laser spectacle goes global
- Rare brain-eating amoeba kills child in Slovakia
- Slovakia has given up on attracting quality people. It is disgusting, says expert
- Wish you were here: the lost spas of yesterday
- From Seattle to Bratislava: an American’s reverse migration story
- Rare brain-eating amoeba kills child in Slovakia
- A year later, Bratislava’s laser spectacle goes global
- From not knowing an English word to being a noted radio announcer in the US Video
- Wish you were here: the lost spas of yesterday
- Two Slovaks deported from US and Vietnam in separate incidents
- Biting the hand that feeds us
- Slovakia has given up on attracting quality people. It is disgusting, says expert
- Foreign workers fill record number of jobs, but fewer are highly skilled
- News digest: Hungary hijacks Slovakia’s foreign policy – for several awkward hours
- Slovakia’s place in Europe’s economy is shifting
- Slovak cities launch nationwide network to support refugees and migrants
- Iran, or who really calls for sovereignty
- Perhaps Slovakia’s best-known judge is fighting to keep her robe
- Slovakia’s “Mont Ventoux” opens to cyclists
- Caught by the gravitational pull of Europe, this American is rediscovering his Slovak roots More articles ›
